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Hard labor yields hope, relationships

Front Range youth group repairing flood damage in Sterling

Volunteers on Thursday haul a downed tree from the banks of the South Platte River at one of the properties they worked on during their mission trip to Sterling. (Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Shovels, work gloves and paint brushes are some of the tools a junior high youth group from Highlands Ranch used to help some Sterling residents who were affected by the September 2013 flood this week.

They were also tools that helped those youth build relationships -- with each other, with the community, with God and with the world at large.

Dave Laurvick, the full-time youth director at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch, said that's the ultimate goal of the mission trip the group is on this week.

Thirty-some youth, along with 11 adults, arrived at Faith United Methodist Church Sunday, where they are staying this week. They divided up into five work groups to offer flood recovery assistance in three locations in Sterling.

Jenny Krier, a member of the Northeast Colorado Flood Recovery Outreach team, shows a photo of her flooded house to the youth volunteers working at her home Thursday. (Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

At one site, the youth had a porch painting project at the new home of a resident who lost her trailer on County Road 370 in the flood.

The second location required shoveling a huge pile of sand into the basement of a home on C.R. 370 that was so damaged by the flood that it can't be used as living space anymore.

The third property they worked on saw them clearing and hauling sticks, branches, and sometimes whole tree trunks out of a river bottom that has served as grazing land for cattle in the past.

But even more important than the work the incoming seventh, eighth and ninth graders are doing for the flood survivors is the connections they are making, Laurvick said.

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The week has been focused on forming relationships, and Laurvick said the group appreciates the welcome they have received from the community. In addition to the housing at Faith UMC, other area churches have provided meals for the group. The young teens are also getting to know one another, as many of them are fairly new to the group.

That process is facilitated as the work teams take turns in each location so they can all work together. They are also divided into seven small groups every evening for devotions led by Lauvrick's assistant, Amy McMullen.

Youth volunteers work to move a pile of sand into the basement of a flood damaged home Thursday (Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Lauvrick noted that in addition to the labor the volunteers are providing, they are also there to simply support and listen as the flood survivors talk about their experience in the flood and what they are still going through as they cope.

The work sites are fondly referred to by the main task being performed. Lauvrick said at "Paint," the survivor was out of town when the flood hit. When she returned, her trailer home was gone. He said she took some time with the youth to show them the few items that she was able to recover from her lost home. Taking the time to listen to her helped build empathy in the kids, Lauvrick said. Deb Crawford, volunteer coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church, said one of the biggest struggles for those who lost so much in the flood is making their new place feel like home, and the work the youth have done is helping with that.

Large piles of wood are the results of labor from the junior high youth group from Highlands Ranch that has been working on flood recovery projects this week in Sterling. (Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

During the lunch break at "Sand" Thursday, homeowner Jenny Krier shared pictures of the area during the flood with the kids and talked about her family's experience. Although they sandbagged around the house, groundwater pushed through the mortar between some of the cement blocks in her basement, leaving the lower level of her home unusable. She said it was a blessing that her husband works for his father's construction company, enabling him to take seven months off to do the necessary repairs and build an addition on the home to make up for some of the lost space. Another blessing: their flood insurance covered the damage without a fight - something she knows is not the case for everyone, because of her work on the Northeast Colorado Flood Recovery Outreach team. But, she also shared that her oldest son still struggles with losing all of his belongings from his basement bedroom.

"It's been a horrible experience," she said. "But the community's learned so much."

Nadine Dickinson, homeowner at the "Woods" location, told Renda Kelsch, the team leader for Northeast Colorado Flood Recovery Outreach, that she's never seen a group of kids that worked as hard as these youth.

Her brick home has been condemned and will have to be torn down. The youth salvaged some landscaping bricks from the garden area that can be reused if and when the family rebuilds. Then they moved on to clearing the river bottom pasture to make it fit for cattle again, as well as help ensure water can flow freely if it floods again.

The week hasn't all been work, though. Wednesday was a "fun day" that included a scavenger hunt in downtown Sterling and a barbecue. And there is some free time at the end of each day for the kids to just relax and hang out. Eryn Myers, who will be a ninth grader at Heritage High School this fall, said she's gotten really good at the card game BS this week.

Myers said she wanted to come on the trip to be a part of the flood recovery effort outside of the mountain area that received the most attention during the flood.

In fact, the decision to come to Sterling was made by the kids, Lauvrick said. When they began planning their mission trips - the church has two other age groups that take trips each year - they knew they wanted to be involved in flood recovery, but were expecting to go to the mountains. However, Crawford approached him with the idea of coming to Sterling. Lauvrick said he took the suggestion to his Youth Leadership Team, and it took them "about 3 seconds" to decide.

He noted that the kids must raise the funds for the trip, through church fundraisers and their own efforts, then give up a week of their summer and "work their butts off."

"They're an amazing group of young people," he said.

Myers said the trip has taught her the importance of having good friends and strong community support. "Life is going to knock you down," she said. "You need friends behind you to help you get back up on your feet. That's what we're doing here in Sterling."

Another youth volunteer, Emily Maddox, said she wanted to come on the trip "to help people, help them to see hope again."

The incoming seventh grader at Ken Carroll Middle School has enjoyed making new friends this week, and said she's learned that, "You can't just walk by somebody who needs help. You need to stop and help them."

Hearing that, Lauvrick said it was a proud moment. Each morning, the kids are given a thought for the day to ponder as they do their work. That morning, they had talked about the lesson of the Good Samaritan. Instead of asking, "What will happen to that man if I don't help," the Good Samaritan asked, "What will happen to me if I don't help," Lauvrick said.

RE-1 Valley School District has announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free and reduced price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.
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